On May 11, 2026, the editorial board of Plastic and Aesthetic Research (PAR) conducted an exclusive interview with Prof. Yuval Rinkevich, a world-renowned regenerative biologist, Distinguished Investigator at the Chinese Institutes for Medical Research (CIMR) in Beijing, Chair Professor at Capital Medical University, New Cornerstone Investigator, and the founding director of the CIMR-Institute for Regenerative Biology and Medicine (CIMR-IRBM). The interview was hosted by Dr. Dongsheng Jiang, a researcher at the First Affiliated Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and a member of the PAR editorial board.

Why Do Human Wounds Heal with Scars, While Some Organisms Achieve Scarless Regeneration?

In recent years, rapid advancements in the study of fibroblast heterogeneity have revealed that the key to tissue repair outcomes may not solely lie in traditional collagen deposition and fibrosis processes, but also in the dynamic synergy, collective migration, and extracellular matrix remodeling and transport among different fibroblast populations. These groundbreaking discoveries are redefining our understanding of "repair" and "regeneration", paving the way for plastic and reconstructive surgery to evolve from "scar improvement" to "regeneration induction".

During this interview, we delve into international cutting-edge topics such as collective behavior of fibroblasts, scarless healing, dynamic matrix transport, and regenerative medicine. We will further explore how these fundamental research findings can be translated into treatments for scars, tissue regeneration, and functional reconstruction. Additionally, we address a highly imaginative yet increasingly relevant question: do humans still possess latent regenerative programs that remain unactivated?

Profile of Prof. Yuval Rinkevich

Prof. Yuval Rinkevich is a renowned regenerative biologist, currently serving as a Distinguished Investigator at the Chinese Institutes for Medical Research (CIMR) in Beijing, and a Chair Professor at Capital Medical University. In 2024, he became the founding director of the CIMR-Institute for Regenerative Biology and Medicine (CIMR-IRBM).

Prof. Rinkevich has received numerous prestigious awards, including the New Cornerstone Investigator, National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Senior Foreign Scholar Research Fund, National High-Level Overseas Talent, Beijing High-Level Overseas Talent, European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant (2019-2024), Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) Early Career Researcher Fund (2017-2018), recognition for outstanding scientific achievements from Helmholtz Zentrum München (2017), Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) Career Development Award (2016-2019), and HFSP Long-Term Fellowship (2009-2012).

With over 20 years of experience in the field of tissue/organ repair and regeneration, Prof. Rinkevich has made significant contributions while working at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and Helmholtz Center Munich. His major discoveries include elucidating the roles of key cell lineages and stem cells in coordinating tissue repair and regeneration, uncovering the critical role of Engrailed-1 positive cells in the transition from scarless to scarring tissue responses, and clarifying the functions of fascia and extracellular matrix in multiple organ systems, particularly in the formation of tissue scarring and fibrosis. These findings have provided new insights into the mechanisms of tissue repair and regeneration, offering novel perspectives for clinical interventions, potentially revolutionizing anti-fibrotic therapies, and impacting dermatology, hepatology, pulmonology, and other medical fields. His work has attracted over ten million euros in research funding.

Prof. Rinkevich's research has been widely published in top-tier academic journals such as Nature and Science, with a total citation count of 6,696, an h-index of 42, and an i10-index of 61. He also holds 9 international and domestic patents.

As an outstanding national high-level overseas talent, Prof. Rinkevich is dedicated to integrating and advancing regenerative medicine research, bridging the gap between basic science and clinical translation, and fostering the deep integration of frontier scientific research and clinical applications, aiming to establish a global innovation hub in the field of regenerative medicine.

Questions:

Q1: As the understanding of fibroblast heterogeneity and regenerative wound healing continues to evolve, how do you envision these discoveries translating into the future of plastic and reconstructive surgery, particularly in improving scar quality, tissue regeneration, and long-term functional outcomes?

Q2: In your recent work on “Distinct fibroblast assemblies establishing scarless regeneration”, you proposed that supracellular fibroblast organization may predict healing outcomes more accurately than classical ECM deposition markers. Could this represent a conceptual shift in how we clinically evaluate fibrosis and regenerative healing in the future?

Q3: In your recent lecture delivered in Shanghai this January, titled “Matrix Translocations in Injury, Disease, and Development,” you highlighted the dynamic repositioning of extracellular matrix environments. Your work has also revealed that specific fibroblast populations actively drive scar formation following injury through coordinated behaviors such as swarming, cell–cell adhesion, and the mobilization of prefabricated extracellular matrix into wound sites. From the perspective of plastic and reconstructive surgery, how do you see these collective fibroblast behaviors and matrix translocation processes influencing scar quality and tissue regeneration outcomes, and do you envision future strategies to modulate these processes to promote more regenerative, scar-minimizing healing?

Q4: Across your work—from skin fibrosis and fascia biology to whole-body regeneration models—you seem to repeatedly challenge the boundary between repair and regeneration. Do you think humans still retain latent regenerative programs that are biologically suppressed, rather than evolutionarily lost?

Q5: Your career has continuously bridged developmental biology, stem cell science, fibrosis research, and regenerative medicine. For young investigators entering this rapidly evolving field, what advice would you give on identifying meaningful scientific questions and maintaining originality in an increasingly competitive research environment?